Faith and healing

Faith and healing
Growing band of physicians, nurses offers
free services to homeless in 5 shelters
By CAROL ELROD
STAR RELIGION WRITER
The homeless who stay In five of Indianapolis'
shelters are receiving free medical care because a
large group of the city's busiest doctors and nurses
willingly donate their evenings and weekends to
the cause.
Although the effort started 18 months ago
with a single physician and a handful of his
friends working in All Saints Episcopal Church,
there are now 70 doctors, 80 nurses and 20 clerks
on the volunteer roster.
Each works one shift every six or eight weeks.
The five clinics are called Gennesaret. for the
spot where Jesus and His disciples tied up their
boat after crossing the Sea of Galilee.
According to the sixth chapter of Mark, Jesus
traveled from Gennesaret through the countryside,
ministering to the sick. The people "begged Him to
let them simply touch the edge of His cloak," the
Bible says, "and all who touched Him were
healed."
The volunteer effort has the same goal, and
Christ is the inspiration.
"We are up-front about our faith underpinnings," said Dr. James Trippi, the Indianapolis
cardiologist who started the clinic on Ash Wednesday of 1988.
At first, he carried all of his equipment in a
foot locker and examined patients "on the floor
and on couches" at the All Saints church. Trippi
said. At that time, the homeless were sleeping in
the church pews.
"For a while, whatever was in that suitcase
was what we had," said Dr. Cheryle Southern, an
internist who has been a Gennesaret volunteer for
- about a year.
In a few months, additional foot lockers were
added. Now there is a supply cabinet in each of the
five clinic sites. Medicines are either given by
pharmaceutical companies or are spare samples
collected from local doctors' offices.
Examining tables, blood pressure cuffs, fever
thermometers and even wastebaskets for the clinic
rooms have been donated. Every week more equipment comes in, often unsolicited.
"It is like the people of God at the same time
said something should be done about this (medical
care for the homeless)," Trippi said.
The homeless have the same common ailments that all family practice physicians treat —
sore throats and sore toes, diarrhea, upset stomachs, cut fingers, urinary infections, earaches and
high blood pressure.
About 40 percent of the people who seek
refuge in shelters are women and children. Many
of the residents, both male and female, have lost
Jobs and then their houses or apartments. "Some
thing completely fell apart." Trippi said. "They
look like the people next door."
Indianapolis' "street people" — those who
refuse to go to the shelters — are not the population seen by the Gennesaret doctors.
A nurse who works for the People's Health
Center travels throughout Indianapolis in a van
and tries to help those people, many of whom are
very ill with schizophrenia or alcoholism, he said.
Patients who have problems the Gennesaret
doctors aren't equipped to treat can be referred to
Wishard Memorial or Methodist hospitals. Trippi
said. Gennesaret also has a list of Indianapolis
specialists who have agreed to provide free treatment in their offices.
The cardiologist admits Gennesaret has been
criticized because the volunteers have trouble following up on patients with chronic conditions. The
homeless move around, and there are a lot of
health professionals involved in the care of a
single patient.
Another problem is "we are dependent on
samples," Southern said. "Often we don't get
(enough) medicine to supply someone for three or
six months." as might be necessary.
"We try to get as many as we can into places
where they can get help, but it's often two to three
months before they can be seen at Wishard for
anything but an emergency," she said.
In addition to the Dayspring Shelter at All
Saints, the volunteers staff the Good News Mission, the Holy Family Shelter, the Salvation Army
Adult Rehabilitation Center and Lighthouse Mission.
The People's Health Center staffs clinics in a
half-dozen more shelters. That way. almost every
homeless person who stays in a shelter theoretically could have access to a doctor once a week.
Monday evening, the Homeless Initiative Program of People's Health Center, the Marion County
Health Department and Gennesaret will work together to test all of Indianapolis' homeless for
tuberculosis.
Recent screenings in other cities have revealed
that 1.6 to 6.8 percent of the homeless have active
TB. That is 150 to 300 times the national average.
Last winter, a handful of people living in
Indianapolis shelters were found to have active
TB. "If you can pick up some of those who are
communicable, that will make a big impact,"
Trippi said.
Volunteer physicians, nurses and clerks are
still needed for the one-night effort and for a
follow-up session Thursday morning to X-ray
those whose initial tests show a possible infection
with TB.
To volunteer, call Nan Gregori, the volunteer
coordinator for Gennesaret, at (317) 293-9864.

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Faith and healing
Growing band of physicians, nurses offers
free services to homeless in 5 shelters
By CAROL ELROD
STAR RELIGION WRITER
The homeless who stay In five of Indianapolis'
shelters are receiving free medical care because a
large group of the city's busiest doctors and nurses
willingly donate their evenings and weekends to
the cause.
Although the effort started 18 months ago
with a single physician and a handful of his
friends working in All Saints Episcopal Church,
there are now 70 doctors, 80 nurses and 20 clerks
on the volunteer roster.
Each works one shift every six or eight weeks.
The five clinics are called Gennesaret. for the
spot where Jesus and His disciples tied up their
boat after crossing the Sea of Galilee.
According to the sixth chapter of Mark, Jesus
traveled from Gennesaret through the countryside,
ministering to the sick. The people "begged Him to
let them simply touch the edge of His cloak," the
Bible says, "and all who touched Him were
healed."
The volunteer effort has the same goal, and
Christ is the inspiration.
"We are up-front about our faith underpinnings," said Dr. James Trippi, the Indianapolis
cardiologist who started the clinic on Ash Wednesday of 1988.
At first, he carried all of his equipment in a
foot locker and examined patients "on the floor
and on couches" at the All Saints church. Trippi
said. At that time, the homeless were sleeping in
the church pews.
"For a while, whatever was in that suitcase
was what we had," said Dr. Cheryle Southern, an
internist who has been a Gennesaret volunteer for
- about a year.
In a few months, additional foot lockers were
added. Now there is a supply cabinet in each of the
five clinic sites. Medicines are either given by
pharmaceutical companies or are spare samples
collected from local doctors' offices.
Examining tables, blood pressure cuffs, fever
thermometers and even wastebaskets for the clinic
rooms have been donated. Every week more equipment comes in, often unsolicited.
"It is like the people of God at the same time
said something should be done about this (medical
care for the homeless)," Trippi said.
The homeless have the same common ailments that all family practice physicians treat —
sore throats and sore toes, diarrhea, upset stomachs, cut fingers, urinary infections, earaches and
high blood pressure.
About 40 percent of the people who seek
refuge in shelters are women and children. Many
of the residents, both male and female, have lost
Jobs and then their houses or apartments. "Some
thing completely fell apart." Trippi said. "They
look like the people next door."
Indianapolis' "street people" — those who
refuse to go to the shelters — are not the population seen by the Gennesaret doctors.
A nurse who works for the People's Health
Center travels throughout Indianapolis in a van
and tries to help those people, many of whom are
very ill with schizophrenia or alcoholism, he said.
Patients who have problems the Gennesaret
doctors aren't equipped to treat can be referred to
Wishard Memorial or Methodist hospitals. Trippi
said. Gennesaret also has a list of Indianapolis
specialists who have agreed to provide free treatment in their offices.
The cardiologist admits Gennesaret has been
criticized because the volunteers have trouble following up on patients with chronic conditions. The
homeless move around, and there are a lot of
health professionals involved in the care of a
single patient.
Another problem is "we are dependent on
samples," Southern said. "Often we don't get
(enough) medicine to supply someone for three or
six months." as might be necessary.
"We try to get as many as we can into places
where they can get help, but it's often two to three
months before they can be seen at Wishard for
anything but an emergency," she said.
In addition to the Dayspring Shelter at All
Saints, the volunteers staff the Good News Mission, the Holy Family Shelter, the Salvation Army
Adult Rehabilitation Center and Lighthouse Mission.
The People's Health Center staffs clinics in a
half-dozen more shelters. That way. almost every
homeless person who stays in a shelter theoretically could have access to a doctor once a week.
Monday evening, the Homeless Initiative Program of People's Health Center, the Marion County
Health Department and Gennesaret will work together to test all of Indianapolis' homeless for
tuberculosis.
Recent screenings in other cities have revealed
that 1.6 to 6.8 percent of the homeless have active
TB. That is 150 to 300 times the national average.
Last winter, a handful of people living in
Indianapolis shelters were found to have active
TB. "If you can pick up some of those who are
communicable, that will make a big impact,"
Trippi said.
Volunteer physicians, nurses and clerks are
still needed for the one-night effort and for a
follow-up session Thursday morning to X-ray
those whose initial tests show a possible infection
with TB.
To volunteer, call Nan Gregori, the volunteer
coordinator for Gennesaret, at (317) 293-9864.